Beautiful wise one

[asakiyume]

A puddle of gold beneath a golden tree: it's gingko, the ancient of ancients, gingko, who watched indulgently as the dinosaurs rose and fell; gingko, who, a mere kilometer's distance from ground zero in Hiroshima, survived and flourished when all else died. That's how you survive for 270 million years.

Gingko, at some point along in your evolutionary journey, you chose to turn to brilliant gold before shedding your leaves in the cold. You were the first of all the deciduous trees to do so (... you were first of all the deciduous trees), and we, lately come to planet Earth, thank you. Your choice brightens our species' mayfly lives, we stand in your golden glow and feel blessed.

Comments

[sonia]

Beautiful image and words!

[asakiyume]

Thank you! Gingkos are such wondrous, wonderful trees.

[kore]

This is so beautiful.

[asakiyume]

Good source material! I ♥ ginkos

[rachelmanija]

Gorgeous. I love ginkgos - the color, the fan shape, the history.

[asakiyume]

Yup yup yup--their everything.

[pameladean]

What a lovely post. I love gingkos too. I even love their stinky fruits, because if you walk at dusk along a street lined with gingkos that are dropping their fruits, there will be people quickly and quietly collecting them into bags and slipping away in the darkness. I imagine there might be some in the morning dusk too, before sunrise, but I am very seldom abroad that that time.

A block lined with gingkos is a wonderful sight, especially in autumn, but really any time. Not being native, they're out of sync with other trees, and the shape of their leaves is unique, as is their growth habit.

P.

[asakiyume]

(thank you!)

I remember the first time I ever saw a gingko leaf--I had a rushing sense of being in a dream or fairy tale because what was this leaf with this perfect fan shape? And yet I wasn't dreaming--it was real! Wonderful.

Given how long gingkos have been here, it's no wonder they're now associated with memory. Think of the species memory they have!

[pameladean]

Yes! I'd seen gingko leaves in art before I saw a real one, and I didn't believe they were real until I did see one. Minneapolis planted a tiny one on the boulevard of our previous house and it was such an adventure.

The next time I walk past a gingko I will ask what it remembers.

P.

[asakiyume]

The next time I walk past a gingko I will ask what it remembers. -- now *there's* an epic for you. And who, from a gingko's perspective, would be the protagonists, I wonder. (Well, gingkos, no doubt, but what others would catch its attention?)

[osprey_archer]

Beautiful - both the words and the picture - and gingkos themselves, of course.

[asakiyume]

Yeah--love these trees!

[sovay]

A puddle of gold beneath a golden tree: it's gingko, the ancient of ancients, gingko, who watched indulgently as the dinosaurs rose and fell; gingko, who, a mere kilometer's distance from ground zero in Hiroshima, survived and flourished when all else died.

That's a beautiful invocation.

[asakiyume]

Thank you--I couldn't keep it in.

[gwynnega]

I grew up with a gingko tree outside my house (my mom still lives there, and the tree is still there too). I love gingkos, especially this time of year.

[asakiyume]

Where is that house? (At first I was thinking southern California, but that's you now, not you growing up.)

[gwynnega]

That's where I grew up too! The house is in Van Nuys.

[asakiyume]

So that's just further proof of gingko excellence: they flourish in cool New England and warm southern California alike--and do their leaf color turning, apparently not prompted by temperature shifts but something else!

[gwynnega]

Possibly the southern California gingko responds to the more subtle temperature shifts we get here in autumn?

[minoanmiss]

This is so lovely and true. :)

[asakiyume]

^_^

[okrablossom]

This was wonderful :) Thank you!

[asakiyume]

You're welcome--I love them ♥

[amaebi]

I love your praise of ginkgo.

[asakiyume]

Thank you! They are Greatly Worthy

[pjthompson]

Lovely!

[asakiyume]

Yeah--I had to share!

[rimturse]

Beautiful musings.

[asakiyume]

Thank you!

[athenais]

I love gingkos so much. So much.

[asakiyume]

ME TOO. So much.

[radiantfracture]

Marvellous! They are golden here now too -- some of the last bright leaves.

[asakiyume]

Yes! They're going bright when most other leaves have fallen.